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Can we have a Help! and Newbie! filter, please?

Hi,

Could we please have a javascript installed that alerts and returns false if the title of a newly posted thread contains the word 'help' or 'newbie' or a spelling variance of them? The pinkish Reminder under the entry form obviously doesn't work.

Can you give a few examples of false positives? And what makes you say that it's not worth the - small - effort? Has there ever been done a survey on the matter?

Sure; an example of a false positive would be right here: Can we have a Help! and Newbie! filter, please?
Filters are reserved for substantially reducing the amount of spam seen on the forums.
When I reply to threads with poor titles, I'll remind the OP that they should choose a title the better describes the issue. Beyond this, I don't see a reason to implement any type of additional filters for them.

those are two very valid Q's that have come up. Just because they don't describe a "specific" problem, in reality they do... the "specific" problem is they are new, and have no idea what to do to start.

Also I have no qualms about someone having a variance of "newbie" in their title... granted it is in our rules to be lax and lenient on individuals because they come here to learn- this still does not erase the fact that if some posts a question that others feel the answer is blatantly obvious (bc they have XP in it) that that person will get slammed for it. Posting "newbie" alert individuals who would put harsh/condescending responses and also alerts those who are more versed in explaining things to "newbies"
I am by no means saying threads like

Newbie HELP!!!!!

should be allowed, and there is an entire thread in active lounge addressing such threads, but to rule out all "newbie" variances is a bad idea IMO

the word "help" is an absolute negative... I would say 90% (if not more) of the thread topics here are about "asking for help" .... how can you remove a key word that makes asking for something more polite

Just from the first page of the HTML/CSS and PHP forums. These are all sufficient for their titles, but I cannot see any on either forum's first page indicating bad titles overall (which yes I know also exist). These six threads would then have become moderated when there was no need for them to be. Can you post some examples that support your claim?
From what I can see, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that there is a rampant thread title issue.

Originally Posted by Frankie

I don't think I've seen even one moderator in action for that reason on the HTML/CSS forum since I joined, two months ago.

I won't go through 38 pages of posts in the past two months, but going through the first 6 or so I fail to see any problems with the titles. As I've said, there is no evidence to suggest that there is an overall title selection problem.
Do not forget that just because you cannot see something doesn't mean that nothing has not been done. Some moderators are more ruthless than others, and some are more private than vocal. I choose to be forgiving and provide a public response to indicate that a thread title isn't sufficient; others will opt for communication via PM or issue infractions instead. PM's are only viewable by the individuals, and infractions only viewable by moderators, so just because you cannot see that action has occurred does not mean that it has not.

Originally Posted by Frankie

How about saving those that answer the questions from an annoyance?

Again, there is no evidence to support your claim. One poor thread title per hundred is an acceptable threshold. If the problem were more like one per two, then yes there would be an issue.

There is also nothing that forces you to read or acknowledge such a thread. It's well known that poor thread titles lead to no/less replies, or snide and curt responses. We have no rules that govern thread titles beyond the scope of illegal or objectionable content.

Suit yourself, but I'm pretty sure that a lot of knowledgeable folks who would otherwise hang around every now and then to help others out now don't, because of those exaggerated cries for HELP!!! As if they are drowning!